2008:

July 01, 2008: HSA Receives Phase II SBIR Award from NIA to Develop Disaster Planning On-Line Training Curriculum
Warrenton, VA – On July 1, 2008, HSA received a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research award from the National Institute on Aging to develop an interactive, on-line disaster planning curriculum for long-term care staff. The purpose of the proposed research is to reduce the risk of disaster-related deaths and injuries to older adults in long-term care. The computer-based training materials developed from this curriculum will provide long-term care owners, administrators, and facility emergency planning teams with the knowledge, skills, and tools they need to develop, implement, and practice an emergency operations plan. Modules will combine text, graphics, animation, sound, and high-resolution video to create a fully-interactive media-rich, learner-controlled environment. The program will be evaluated in a national field test with small, medium, and large long-term care facilities, using a randomized pretest/posttest experimental design with a control group. The field test will also include an evaluation of participants’ emergency operations plans prior to the training and one month after the training. Visit our Research page for additional information about this exciting new grant.
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April 1, 2008: HSA Receives Phase II SBIR Award from NIA to Develop Restorative Care Training Curriculum
Warrenton, VA – On April 1, 2008, HSA received a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research award from the National Institute on Aging to develop an interactive, on-line restorative care curriculum for long-term care staff. The long-range goal of this proposed research is to improve the quality of life of older people who live in assisted living facilities by training staff in restorative care techniques. This goal will be achieved by developing and validating a comprehensive multimedia restorative care training program. Each module will use a three-part approach: interactive computer-based training (for providing knowledge and improving attitudes), video-based instruction (for demonstrating techniques), and print materials (to instruct participants on how to practice skills with another staff member through role play.) Module topics will include: restorative care philosophy/benefits and specific ADLs, e.g. dressing, dining, ambulation, toileting, exercising, grooming, bathing, and cognitive and social skills. Researchers will also develop a module for facility owners, administrators, and family members on the benefits of implementing a facility-wide restorative care program.

During Phase I, HSA successfully developed and pilot tested a prototype module on dressing. During Phase II, HSA will complete the development of the remaining restorative care modules, conduct a pilot test of those modules, prepare the program for delivery in three formats (Web based, CD-ROM, and Interactive DVD), and conduct a field test of the complete program.

This training program will help long term care administrators and staff develop positive attitudes toward restorative care. It will also help staff understand their role in creating independent residents, resulting in improved quality of care and improved quality of life for older adults.

Visit our Research page for additional information about this exciting new grant.
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2007:

September 1, 2007: HSA’s Fire Safety Research Paper Accepted for Publication in The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing
Warrenton, VA – HSA's research paper titled “The Effects of Computer-Based Fire Safety Training on the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Caregivers" has been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing. This paper describes the pilot test evaluation of our fire emergency planning training course, designed for owners, operators, and staff of small residential board and care facilities. To read the abstract of this paper, visit our Articles page. Look for the complete paper in The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing in 2008.[top]

April 1, 2007:
Receives Phase II SBIR Award from NIA to Develop Fire Safety Training Curriculum for Owners, Operators and Staff of Small Residential Board and Care Facilities
Warrenton, VA – On April 1, 2007, HSA received a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research award from the National Institute on Aging to develop an interactive, on-line fire safety curriculum for owners, operators, and staff of small residential board and care facilities. The purpose of the proposed research is to reduce the incidence of fire-related deaths and injuries in board and care facilities for the elderly through the development and distribution of a comprehensive and validated web-based training program. Older adults in small residential board and care facilities are at a particularly high risk of fire death and injury because of their characteristics (decreased mobility, dementia, high medication use, sensory losses, and weaker respiratory systems) and environment (residents outnumber the staff; lack of sophisticated fire protection systems, and lack of staff training). Training is critical for owners, operators, and staff of small residential board and care facilities because they are responsible for all facets of fire protection, including inspecting for hazards, buying/testing/maintaining fire protection equipment, developing a fire emergency plan, interacting with the fire inspector and training residents. However, traveling to off-site locations for training is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive because it requires leaving the residents with back-up caregivers.

A comprehensive, interactive web-based fire safety training program will give caregivers the knowledge and skills they need to prevent a fire and to respond correctly in a fire emergency. The program will include interaction, animation, video, graphics and narration to create a media-rich learning environment.

The Phase I pilot study demonstrated the effectiveness of a prototype web-based training module on the topic of fire emergency planning. Study participants who completed the training significantly improved their scores from pre- to posttest when compared to a control group. Participants indicated on the course evaluation that the computers were easy to use for training (97%) and that they would like to use computers for future training courses (97%). Phase II will expand the research to include the development of two new web-based training modules on the topics of identifying and eliminating fire hazards and installing, testing, and maintaining fire safety devices. Researchers will evaluate the program in a national field test.

Visit our Research page for additional information about this exciting new grant.
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